Pupil Registration Regulations 2016 Amendments: views from LAs and schools

This research was part of a review of the 2016 Amendments to the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006, that require schools to notify their local authority (LA) when a pupil is added to or removed from their roll outside of the usual transition periods, and to provide further relevant information about their destination. Sara Bubb Associates were commissioned to gather views from local authority (LA) Children Missing Education (CME) officers and schools to help understand how the 2016 Amendments to the Pupil Registration Regulations (2006) were being implemented and to gather views on their effectiveness. The research was based on a survey of CME officers, interviews with CME officers to gain greater insight, focus groups to discuss issues, and semi-structured telephone interviews with schools

How the COVID-19 home-schooling experience can boost creativity and enhance teacher feedback

You might expect that the lockdown imposed by Covid-19 last spring would undermine schools’ progress in engaging pupils with more creative teaching and learning. But in the Norwegian municipality where I am involved in school improvement, this has not been the case at all. Much has been written about the negative impact of the pandemic on pupils’ education but research that I conducted with Mari-Ana Jones has found much to celebrate about remote teaching and learning

The Mentoring of New Headteachers/Principals

International research (e.g. Moos et al. 2011; Day and Gurr 2016) consistently shows the importance of leadership development. Lovett et al. (2015, 138), from an extensive review of the literature, note that there is general agreement that ‘school leaders need high levels of self-efficacy, resilience, self-awareness and judgement in order to cope with the emotional demands and complexities inherent in school-based ethical decision-making’. Research evidence also shows that given the intensity of the job, the emotional demands, the accompanying workload and the high-stakes accountability cultures in which they work, principals suffer from high levels of occupational stress (Mahfouz 2018; Phillips and Sen 2011). It is perhaps unsurprising therefore that many education systems are experiencing difficulties in recruiting and retaining school principals (MacBeath, O’Brien and Gronn 2012). A decade ago the OECD (2009) reported that 15 of the 22 participating countries had difficulties in finding a sufficient number of qualified candidates. Within this context, this paper considers the professional and personal development needs of school leaders and seeks to explore the difference that the provision of a mentor makes. An extension of earlier research into the professional development needs of heads of leading independent schools (Earley, Bubb and Berry, 2016), it looks specifically at the journeys of 15 new heads and their mentors for two years, from the head-designate period. It argues that whilst the provision of leadership development opportunities continues to be essential, greater attention needs to be given to individuals and their personal development - their wellbeing and developing the personal qualities and traits required for school leaders to operate successfully in such demanding working conditions

Learning from the COVID-19 home-schooling experience: Listening to pupils, parents/carers and teachers

In Spring 2020, schools in many countries had to close in response to the COVID-19 virus pandemic and move to remote teaching. This paper explores the views of pupils, parents/carers and teachers of ‘home-school’ in one Norwegian municipality, gathered through parallel online surveys in April 2020 during the peak of the COVID-19 lockdown period. It finds that adaptation happened very quickly and that home-school was well received by pupils and parents. There was more creative learning, better progress, more useful feedback and greater student independence. School leaders reported that they wanted to implement changes based on the experience of remote learning enforced by the lockdown, so that the crisis has become an opportunity for grassroots innovation

Schools as learning communities: effective professional development

This paper draws upon recent research and literature to discuss what is known about effective professional development. It begins with a brief discussion of terminology and offers a definition of professional development before investigating in more detail what constitutes effective professional development. This links to a discussion about the nature of learning communities and how professional development is led within such communities. Finally, we consider the changing nature of provision and approaches to teacher development and learning with a greater focus on school-based provision with a practitioner emphasis

Data and inquiry driving school improvement : developments in England

In this paper we draw upon recent developments in England to show how school leaders are using evidence and data for the purposes of school improvement and teachers are becoming more «research engaged» or research orientated. Particular interest is given to how schools are attempting to close the gap between the performance of children from different socioeconomic backgrounds. A policy initiative – the Pupil Premium – has led to school leaders looking closely at a range of improvement and intervention strategies, their effectiveness and the impact they have, especially on poor pupils. We consider this and other related developments further, within an emerging self-improving system, and argue that school leaders are crucial for both data-driven improvement and for ensuring that school-based decision-making becomes evidence based or at least evidence informed. Research engagement does not just happen – it has to be led and managed. The vision is to change the culture of schooling so that practitioner inquiry and research engagement are important parts of teachers’ professional practice. Inquiry-based school systems have been found to be a hallmark of high performing countries (Mourshed et al., 2010) and school leaders are key to the success of this system and cultural change. The paper concludes by considering what factors are important for this change to be realised

Listening to pupils to improve schools, especially in COVID-19 times

In Spring 2020, schools in many countries faced challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. School closures at short notice created severe disruption, and staff had to teach remotely with little preparation. Many teachers rose to the challenge, leading to questions about the future of schooling. Schleicher suggests that 'it is about looking seriously and dispassionately at good practice in our own countries and elsewhere to become knowledgeable about what works'. In this webinar, Dr Sara Bubb and Maria-Ana Jones present their research about the views of pupils, parents, and teachers of ‘home-school’ in one Norwegian municipality. The researchers have written about how the COVID-19 home-schooling experience can boost creativity and enhance teacher feedback. They invite consideration of the wider implications of this research and practice in other contexts

Counting the cost of a fragmented school system: issues for the reform and leadership of the middle tier

This was a joint RIG meeting between the Structural Reform Group and the Leadership Preparation and Development RIG, to hear presentations from Dr Sara Bubb, Jonathan Crossley-Holland, and Dr Susan Cousin, from their research into ‘The Middle Tier’. We found that the middle tier oversight functions cost £1,212.8m in 2016/17. The functions for academies cost 44% more than the LA system – academy middle tier costs in 2016/17 totalled £687.4m or £167.05 per pupil compared to £525.4m or £115.17 per pupil for the LA system. These presentations were very well-received, and you can access the Power Point here. The full published document is available to access here: http://sarabubb.com/middle-tier/4594671314 There followed a very animated afternoon of discussion around changes to the system with contributions from head teachers; system leaders; academics; and research students